A pilot ScreenSkills initiative aims to support those whose access to a screen career may otherwise have been blocked by financial obstacles.
A financial bursary, developed by the High-end TV Skills Council and funded by the HETV Skills Fund, provides financial support to three students to cover any tuition and cost of living fees over the course of an academic year. The pilot initiative is hoped to break down barriers for entry to the screen industry and help those from under-represented backgrounds start their screen career journey.
Two students at Edinburgh Napier University have been awarded £6,000 for a year studying BA (Hons) Television with a focus on production roles identified by the HETV Skills Council as an area of skills shortage.
The bursary will also cover the tuition fees of one female student studying for a location sound diploma at the National Film and Television School (NFTS), while providing a further £3,500 to help support living expenses for the duration of the 15 month course.
In addition to financial support, the initiative also provides each of the students with ScreenSkills support throughout the year, networking opportunities and set visits on HETV productions.
India Holdstock received the bursary to cover her studies at NFTS. She said: “I never thought studying at NFTS would be an option for me as I could not afford the course fees or the cost of living. However, when I saw that there was a scholarship from ScreenSkills this suddenly became a real possibility for me.”
“The bursary has helped me by covering the cost of the course that I otherwise wouldn’t have had any way of affording. It’s also been hugely helpful with going towards my living costs. If it wasn’t for this I would have to get a part-time job alongside the course to try and cover these expenses this would then limit the number of productions I would be available to work on. I don’t think the course would have been something I could have even considered if it wasn’t for the ScreenSkills bursary.”
Tristan Menhinick is one of the Napier students to receive the bursary. He said: “Initiatives like the bursary can help level the playing field and give people who might have struggled a chance at pursuing a career within the screen industry.”
On how the course has helped him, he added: “When I look at this course and what it has given me so far in terms of developing my screen career, it’s given me access to people I wouldn’t have dreamed of speaking to and it also has given me hands-on experience, I have been someone that really learns with their hands so getting to be very hands on has been brilliant.”
Cara Elden was the second Napier student to successfully apply for the bursary. She spoke about some of the wider elements of the initiative: “It has helped in many ways as I have had access to being on a few different professional sets. I was able to have an on set visit to Screw which was so eye opening and only put the fuel to the fire. Also it has allowed me to have access to many different aspects of production and see where I best fitted.”
We will be following the journey’s of India, Tristan and Cara as they come towards the end of their academic year and look to further their careers in high-end television.
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Find out more about the High-end TV Skills Fund